Golf is a well-known competitive sport and improvements in golf club and golf ball technology represent a fascination among both professionals and hobbyists. Indeed, golf is considered a difficult and competitive sport/hobby for many people. Many proposals have been made to design golf clubs which provide improved control over, and feel for, the golf ball, for example by providing grooves on the impact face of the golf club head. When your average golfer swings a golf club, he or she may have dramatic variations in his or her golf swing, resulting in numerous off-center hits, which result in diminished performance when compared to a direct center hit. However, in an attempt to make this very difficult game more enjoyable for the average golfer, golf club designers have come up with unique golf club designs that will mitigate the harsh realities of a less than perfect golf swing.
Despite all of the attempts to improve the performance of a golf club head all while trying to minimize the sacrifice in feel of a golf club, the predominant designs of golf clubs and club heads do not transmit maximum force through the head of the golfer's swing to the ball. Other patents have attempted to solve the ideal golf club design, but predominantly have failed to deliver every promised feature at once.
U.S. Pat. No. 723,534 ('534 Patent), issued to Knight, describes a golf club in which the center of the shaft is connected to the head forward of the center mass in the direction of delivery of the blow and at a point between the heel and toe of the club-head. It comprises also a head having a striking face along its major axis, with the shaft connection at a point forward of the center of mass.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,128 ('128 Patent), issued to Morelli, describes a golf putter having, in combination, a putting head and an elongate article, such as a bottle, a portion of which constitutes the putting surface. The putter comprises a generally flat, vertically oriented driving element attached to the putter shaft, with an aperture formed in the driving element of sufficient dimension to accept the elongate article. A receptor, spaced from the driving element by an arm extending between the receptor and the driving element, is shaped to engage one end of the elongate article and retain the article with part of the article being situated within the aperture. That portion of the elongate article extending from the aperture on the side of the driving element opposite from the receptor constitutes the putting surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,383,089 ('089 Patent), submitted by Bonneau, describes a putter head fashioned from a block metal having a conventional face, but having a mass relieved portion behind the face, with greatest mass relief at the sole of the club and a lesser amount of mass relief extending upwardly to the top surface of the club which has conventional dimensions and shape. Since the greatest amount of mass relief is at the bottom of the club, the mass relief is said to be inverted. A pair of inclined ribs behind the central portion of the face add stiffness to the club. The club has a raised center of gravity intended to be in alignment with the center of a golf ball. A plug of heavy metal may be centered on the center of gravity to add stiffness at the zone. Although the club would typically be made out of aluminum or steel, a club, without the plug, could be made of an ultra-heavy metal, such as depleted uranium, and be no heavier than a regular club due to the inverted mass relief.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,480,515 ('515 Patent), which issued to Roach et el., describes a golf club head having a translucent insert disclosed. The club head includes a body defining a striking face, a top line, a sole, a back, a heel, and a toe. The back contains a cavity that extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the face. A recess is provided within the cavity, with the recess extending away from the cavity and toward the sole. A translucent insert, such as a vibration dampening member, may be provided within the recess. The insert may contain secondary inserts, such as weight members, therein in strategic locations. The insert may completely fill the recess, or may fill only a portion thereof.
United States Patent Application No. 2011/0014992, submitted by Morrissey, describes a golf club which includes a head and a shaft coupled to the head. The shaft is positioned so that an axis of the shaft intersect at or near a center of mass of the head.
These problems, and others, have been addressed by the improved golf club heads disclosed herein and discussed in greater detail below.